Tunnel Rat

"It's all well and good to have some spanner boys on our side, but they can't win a battle by talking! Enough with the gawking. We need to form into teams to take these things down, and make plans on how to tackle the big one." Burnock’s voice boomed out over the crowd around the Engineers and he pushed through until he stood before them.

"Captain Burnock of the First Company of the Shadowforge Rangers. Good to have you with us." He shook hands with Throttlecog and Two-Screws. Milo looked at the outstretched hand and after a pause, shook hands as well. He always got confused with this silly ritual.

Throttlecog's face gave nothing away, but old memories came back at the mention of Burnock's clan, not all of them good. "Shadowforge? I remember your clan. Spent some time over in your mines on Crystal Ridge as a junior Engineer teaching some of your folks how to use a portable ore crusher without blowing it up. The rock was ordinary granite but the Lebrezite Crystals formed inside the nodes were Tier 3 and as hard as Assaying Master's heart. We had to teach the miners to listen to the sound of the crystals vibrating so they could separate the nodes and not ruin another ore crusher. A long time ago that was."

Burnock couldn't keep the astonishment off of his face. He'd read about the mining on Crystal Ridge in the family archives that had been salvaged after the Great Disaster. How old was this Engineer? Could he be serious? A look at the armor Throttlecog was wearing answered that question. No one, absolutely no one in any of the clans had a working suit of Magictech Armor. He immediately regretted his 'spanner boy' slur.

"Ah, yes, that was quite a bit ago. But Clan Shadowforge is still here, and still protecting the mines. We've got a Stone lurker problem and would appreciate your help. As you said, your Guild and my Clan worked together long ago, and I welcome our old allies."

Two-Screws laughed. "Sure, we'll help out. I've got some new toys that need testing. These little ones die too quickly. I'd love a crack at a big one." He turned and scowled at Milo. "If that is, someone doesn't run off and try to hog all the monsters. Learn to share or I'm helping Boom-Boom strap you into his newest gut wrencher when we get back."

Milo's gut turned over at the thought. "Sharing! Right, I can share. Lots of sharing. In fact, I have some ideas on how we should fight them. Fight them together with me sharing!"

"Good. Let's hear those plans then."

Milo found his thoughts ran faster at the thought of Boom-Boom's latest invention. Dwarves seemed to relish anything that challenged their physical abilities. Milo, not so much. "I was testing my abilities against these lurkers. They're not as tough as the normal ones I fought earlier. Their armor chips off in larger chunks, making them vulnerable, and their insides haven't hardened yet like the older ones. If someone gets a good shot on one, everyone else should decoy them until someone can hit that same spot. I'll use my bombs and claws on each one to make weak points, then share the kills with everyone else."

Two-Screws liked the plan. "And we can do the same. No sense one of us working to destroy one lurker when we can weaken several and let these stout miners clean up after us and put the beasties down."

Throttlecog started asking questions of the various miners and soldiers, then assigned the older dwarves to lead teams, each with good picks and one shield man. "You can't fight these things using a shield wall. They break walls and crush armor. Run around them, chip away at weak spots. Confuse and separate them. The little ones aren't the problem. Do we have eyes on the Brood Mother? Any idea of Level?”

One old timer spoke up. "Hard to say. I got a look at her, and my Assaying skill is at level 9. She's at least a Monstrous Boss, and Tier 3 or more. I can't pin her down, but she feels higher than 3. Damned Big! Her feet and claws are the size of ore carts. A dozen legs, and at least 30 feet long. Moves slowly though. She drops the little lurkers now and then. Her armor thickens, then she sheds the little ones off of her back and grows more. Constantly eating at the stone. I ran back up here to report to Captain Burlock after I saw that."

Murmurs raced through the crowd at the description. Regular Stone Lurkers were tough. Bone Breaker had been a terror. And now a Brood Mother was heading to the surface. Throttlecog turned to Milo and Two-Screws, lowering his voice. "Their nerve is brittle as sandstone. Let's give them something to do and get moving."

Straightening he yelled out, his voice amplified by either a skill or his armor. "Just a bigger rock to break. Engineers aren't afraid of breaking rock or taking a few bruises doing it. You've got your teams, let's move out. We'll mop up the little ones on the way, and then see about the big one."

Two-Screws started moving through the crowd asking questions. "How are we set for explosives? Any Cataclysmite? No? Ok, how about Blasting Gel? Boomsticks? Tell me someone at least has Boomsticks!" A few of the miners did and handed them over to Two-Screws who started putting them together to make larger explosives.

Small groups and single lurkers were encountered, but with three Engineers and a host of well-armed miners, they were destroyed without casualties. True to his word, Milo shared, tossing his exploding skulls to get their attention and then dancing from lurker to lurker, slashing with his claws or with Shadowblight. Throttlecog and Two-Screws held back as much as they could, only stepping in when it looked serious. Slowly, the miners gained confidence.

The large area near the tunnels to the top came into sight. A dozen dwarves were fighting against half that number of lurkers. Piles of stone and dead or injured dwarves showed the battle's original size. Milo charged ahead, followed by the other two Engineers and some of the more battle-hardy dwarves. They managed to save all but three of the dozen defenders, quickly finishing off the half-dozen monsters. Milo recognized some of the survivors from his fight with Bone Breaker. Gorbel, Asti, and Fangrim had been in the thick of the fighting, each armed with a Dark Steel pick and shield. All three gripped his shoulder or shook his hand. “Good to have you back.”

To Milo's great surprise, Belinda was also there. The human healer was busy trying to help some of the injured miners. He went to help and she looked up, giving him a quick smile before concentrating on her patient. Milo could tell just by looking at him that the miner had broken ribs and a cracked sternum. His side was crushed with horrible bruises. As soon as he put a hand on the dwarf, he could feel the bones, both how they were twisted or broken, and how they should be restored.

"I can fix his broken ribs, and he has fractures in his breastbone, spine, and pelvis. It's going to hurt though; can you help me out with that? If he tenses up, it will be bad."

Belinda nodded. "I can numb the pain and put him into a light sleep. I was worried about doing much more because of those broken ribs. Let's see what we can do together."

It took several castings of both Belinda's Light Healing and Milo's Mend Bone spells, but the injured dwarf went from dying to badly hurt. He needed rest but would recover. As soon as they finished, Belinda went to the next injured fighter and Milo followed. A half hour later all of the injured had been tended to. Milo had only used half of his mana but was not feeling well. The itchy horrible feeling was back. How long did it take for someone to buy a pound of cheese?

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Jethro was not having a great day. In fact, he hadn't had a great day in quite some time. Or even a good day. Just one shitty day after another. He didn't like having to work the cheese stand by himself, but he didn't have any choice. He'd barely left it this last couple of weeks, too scared of what would happen if he missed a certain customer. He slept inside the tent and bribed street urchins to bring him bread, crumcakes, and bacon. His stock of cheese was getting low and no one was going to bring him a restock. There wasn't anything that he could do about the situation though. His gloomy thoughts were interrupted by a young dwarf sprinting up to the stand, breathing hard. "I need...huff...need..."

"Spit it out kid, or catch your breath. It's not like cheese is an emergency."

The dwarf stood up straight. "This time it is. Senior Engineer Milo sent me up here to get some cheese and said it was an important part of his plan." He slammed coins on the counter. "I need as much cheddar as that will buy, and be snappy about it or I'll climb over this counter and show you how much of an emergency it is."

Jethro's desire to see just what would happen if he took his time warred with the knowledge Milo was back. "Oh, Milo? He's my best customer and an old friend! What's he up to? Is he stopping by soon?" As he talked, he swept up the coins and took a three-pound wheel of 10-year-old cheddar from a special box. He'd been saving this just for Milo.

"Here you go. One of our best. I ordered it all the way from Furknoiter just for Milo. Those Furks make some of the best cheddar there is. You tell Milo I have a whole shipment of special cheeses saved especially for him! I'd love for him to stop by so I can give him some free samples."

The young dwarf saluted him, "I'll deliver that message, sir." Mission accomplished; the boy ran off with his package. Jethro quickly closed his shop and headed toward the docks. As he crossed the main bridge, he passed close by one of the guards. "Tell Squint that Milo is on his way up from the mines. Kulag."

The guard nodded, gave a hand signal to his partner, and then ran off to find the leader of the Kulags. Jethro needed friends right now, and Squint was known to be eccentric but treated the people in his gang fairly. Word had been spread to watch for Milo, and passing the word of his return to Squint meant he could count on the Kulag gang as protection as he moved about the city.

Jethro continued past the bridge and turned down a lighted street to a well-established inn that catered to visitors with a large amount of coin to spend. Jethro knew he could eat for a week at the cost of a cup of tea in this place. He had to go around to the back to get in, then bribe a waiter for a loan of an apron. He was the shortest and scruffiest waiter in the place, but he only had to find one person before he could leave. Making his way to the dining room he saw his target sitting at a table by himself. Jethro's lack of height made it easy to get to the sorcerer’s table mostly unseen. The small dragon eyed him with malice but didn't squawk.

"Ah, Jethro. I'm sure you didn't find employment here, Alfonse has much better standards in his waiters. So you must have news that I will enjoy hearing."

Jethro hated the man's voice. It promised nothing but trouble and pain. So far he had made good on that promise. "I found him. He's coming up from the mines and is so desperate for cheese he sent a messenger boy up to get it. Some big fight going on with the lurkers. He'll be up after that. What would you like me to do?"

"Nothing Jethro. Just be your charming self. I'll take care of...oh, excuse me...We will take care of the rest. Sorry, darling, just a figure of speech."

Jethro took that as an excuse to leave, and a few minutes later was back at his cheese stand. This had to work out. Milo had to come by. Too much depended on it.

Milo had just decided that he couldn't wait any longer and was about to head upstairs when his cheese delivery arrived. "Here you go, Senior Engineer, sir. Jethro the halfling was right where you said he'd be and sent you down this big wheel. And he told me to tell you he has a large assortment of special cheese ready for you to try out."

Milo's hands were shaking as he sliced into the hard, golden cheese and took a big bite. He felt better immediately. The young dwarf was hovering nearby.

"Oh, my manners. Thank you very much for this. Sorry, I didn't catch your name?" People who bring you cheese should be thanked properly. Milo was making that a new rule.

"Oh, no matter, sir. I'm Varyhold Axegrinder of the Axegrinder clan, but everyone just calls me Vary."

Milo offered Vary a sliver of cheddar and the boy sat and took small bites. "Good job Vary. You move quickly. Are you a scout or something?"

Vary perked up at the attention. "A runner sir. I run messages and go through the mines doing errands. If I do good, I can start training as a scout. Of course, I'd love to be an Engineer. Does your guild take new applicants?"

Milo thought about it and couldn't say. Certainly, a month ago they wouldn't have, he himself was the first newcomer in ages. But now? Who knew? The Chief Engineer had talked about finding some new recruits. It was one of the reasons for his two friends making the trip. He'd have to ask Throttlecog. "I'm really not sure Vary, but if they are, I'll toss your name on the list.

[Guild Update

Acting Guild Master Milo has placed Varyhold Axegrinder on the list of tentative recruits to be tested.]

 

Vary's eyes got huge. Milo was a bit surprised himself.

"Oh-thankyou-thankyou-thankyou....oops, gotta run. Yell if you need me Senior-engineer-Milo-sir." And with that, the young dwarf was off running to deliver more messages.

Milo finished a half pound of cheese before he had the willpower to put the rest away. He made sure he had several slices in easy-to-reach pockets and tossed the rest in his pack. He also pulled a flask of dubious-looking liquid out of his pack. It was a bottle of Myconic Mana Restorative. Harry made them from a recipe that used mushrooms for a base, rather than the normal mana potions alchemists made. They tasted like a rotten mushroom but did bring his mana back quickly. Milo expected he was going to need every bit in the coming fight and downed the bad-tasting potion.

He gave the other to Belinda with an apology. "Sorry for the taste of this, but it will bring your mana back faster. And thanks for helping out down here."

She stood up and brushed dust and debris from her robe. "I'm a healer, and these people need healing. It feels more important than just spending all day looking for monsters to kill. And NPCs are friendlier than most of the players I've met. It's weird to think that way, but they seem so real! I don't have a lot of friends offline, and no one I play with much, but I'm happy helping down here. But what about you? You've changed your class to Engineer somehow? I have no idea how you level up so fast. Even the guys in my guild that are grinding monsters all day haven't evolved their class yet."

Milo stared at his shoes. "I sort of get in trouble a lot."

Belinda laughed. "Well, whatever you're doing, keep it up." Then daringly bent and gave him a small kiss on his cheek. "Maybe when this is done, we can go get in trouble together? I'll be around." The healer walked off. Leaving a very confused Milo. What did she mean by that? Did she want to fight monsters together? Rather than ponder things that confused him, he ran off to find the other Engineers.

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